Social group management system and method therefor

ABSTRACT

In a method and system for managing a social group, the method includes determining a group member behavior from a member position relative to the social group, and inferring a member state from the member behavior. Spatial, spatio-temporal, and biometric data may be used. A social group management system includes an inference engine that infers a member state from the behavior of a monitored member. Another social group management method includes characterizing a first monitored member of the social group as a first discrete element; characterizing at least a second monitored member of the social group as at least a second discrete element; and determining a characteristic displacement between the first monitored member and at least the second monitored member in accordance with a discrete element method.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/224,755 filed Nov. 6, 2019 for Social Group Management System andMethod Therefor, which is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371of International Patent Application PCT/US2007/063332 filed Mar. 5,2007, designating the United States of America and published in Englishas International Patent Publication WO 2007/103886 A2 on Sep. 13, 2007,which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/779,053, filed Mar. 3, 2006, the disclosure ofeach of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to social animal management systems.More specifically, the invention relates to a social group managementsystem configured to infer a predetermined behavior from the sensedposition of a social group member, relative to the social group.

2. Description of the Related Art

Livestock production can be a resource-intensive and, therefore, costlyenterprise. Therefore, livestock producers seek to maximize productionby quickly identifying individual behavior which may be deemed abnormalfor particular social group. Abnormal behavior may be indicative ofdisease which, if not mitigated by timely treatment, poses a risk ofimpaired well-being, or even death, both to the affected individual andto the group. Early identification of abnormal behavior may lead totimely intervention, preserving the well-being of individuals and thegroup, and increasing a producer's efficiency, competitive advantage,and profitability. Livestock, such as cattle, typically are bred andraised in relatively open environments, where natural forces, predators,disease, injury, and theft can impair robust production and may inflictsignificant losses. Typically, livestock stewards monitor the well-beingof livestock in a social group by direct observation. However, a typicalsocial group may have hundreds of members dispersed over a relativelylarge geographic region, making accurate observations of individualsocial group members difficult, at best. Also, constituent members of asocial group may become distressed by the advance of, and proximity to,social group stewards and other human handlers. Thus, it may bedifficult to ascertain the presence, the identity, and the physicalstate of every social group member. In many circumstances, livestockseparated from the social group, for example, by wandering, injury,disease, or theft, may not be noticed in time for recovery, treatment,or culling. For some infectious diseases or other conditions, suchdelays may result in extensive loss of life or substantial reductions inboth the well-being of the social group and the profitability of thelivestock producer. Recently, it has become desirable to trace thelineage, location, and condition of individual social group members,from birth to slaughter, with the objectives of identifying animalsexposed to certain conditions and diseases, of determining the source ofexposure, of improving the genetic traits, and thus profitability, ofselected breeds, and of facilitating secure food production. Presentsystems and methods may not provide timely information about a socialgroup and its constituent members in a manner consistent with efficient,traceable livestock production.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides methods and apparatus for social groupmanagement. One embodiment provides a method for management of a socialgroup constituted of a plurality of group members, including determininga member behavior corresponding to a member of the plurality of groupmembers, from a position of the member relative to the social group; andinferring a member state from the member behavior. The method also mayinclude, transmitting an alert in response to the wellness state. Inaddition, the method may include determining a variance member behavior;inferring a distressed member state from the variance behavior; andtransmitting a distress alert in response to the distress member state.Determining the member behavior further can include sensing a respectiveposition of selected ones of the plurality of group members, determininga group spatial configuration from the respective position of theselected ones, evaluating the position of the member relative to thegroup spatial configuration by which a member displacement isidentified, and determining the member behavior from the memberdisplacement.

Also, inferring the member state further may include evaluating sensedbiometric data received from the member; and inferring the member statefrom the member behavior and from the sensed biometric data. Moreover,determining the variance behavior may include selecting a memberbehavior model, a social group behavior model, or both; comparing themember behavior to at least one of the member behavior model, the socialgroup behavior model, or a previous member behavior; evaluating sensedbiometric data received from the member; determining the variancebehavior in response to comparing the member behavior, evaluating sensedbiometric data, or both.

Also disclosed is an apparatus providing a social group managementsystem, including an inference engine configured to infer a member statecorresponding to a member behavior representation of a monitored memberof a social group. The system also can include a spatial behavioralmapper coupled to the inference engine and configured to produce themember behavior representation in response to sensed spatialcharacteristics of the monitored member, where an embodiment of thespatial behavioral mapper further includes a spatial data classifierconfigured to classify a monitored member displacement in a predefinedobservation region from the sensed spatial characteristics correspondingto the monitored member; and a behavior classifier configured toclassify the member behavior representation responsive to the memberdisplacement. In selected embodiments, the spatial behavioral mapperfurther includes a spatial data classifier configured to classify amonitored member displacement from the sensed spatial characteristicscorresponding to the monitored member relative to sensed spatialcharacteristics of the social group; and a behavior classifierconfigured to classify the member behavior representation responsive tothe member displacement.

In certain embodiments, the system includes a tag beacon sensorconfigured to receive an active tag beacon from the monitored member,wherein the active tag beacon includes a sensed biometric datarepresentation of the monitored member; and a social group supervisor.The social group supervisor includes a spatial data classifierconfigured to classify a monitored member displacement from the sensedspatial characteristics corresponding to the monitored member relativeto sensed spatial characteristics of the social group, a behaviorclassifier configured to classify a member behavior representationresponsive to the member displacement, and the inference engine, whereinthe inference engine is configured to infer a member state correspondingto a member behavior representation, a sensed biometric datarepresentation, or both.

In certain other embodiments, the system includes a tag beacon sensorconfigured to receive a tag beacon group and a member tag beacon,wherein the tag beacon group is representative of a group spatialconfiguration of the group members, and the member tag beacon isrepresentative of the sensed spatial characteristics of the monitoredmember; and a social group supervisor, including the spatial behavioralmapper configured to produce a group behavior representation in responseto the group spatial configuration; and the inference engine configuredto infer a member state corresponding to the member behaviorrepresentation, the group behavior representation, or both.

In still other embodiments, the active tag beacon includes a sensedbiometric data representation of the monitored member; and the inferenceengine is configured to infer a member state corresponding to the memberbehavior representation, the group behavior representation, a sensedbiometric data representation, or a combination thereof. The inferenceengine infers a distressed member state, and wherein the social groupsupervisor further comprises an alerter configured to transmit adistress alert in response to the distressed member state.

Another method embodiment includes characterizing a first monitoredmember of the social group as a first discrete element; characterizingat least a second monitored member of the social group as at least asecond discrete element; and determining a characteristic displacementbetween the first monitored member and at least the second monitoredmember in accordance with a predetermined discrete element method.Selected embodiments of the method also include characterizing acharacteristic member behavior corresponding to the characteristicdisplacement; and inferring a member state from the characteristicmember behavior. In selected other embodiments, the method includesreceiving selected sensed biometric data corresponding to the firstmonitored member; and inferring the member state from the characteristicmember behavior, the selected sensed biometric data, or both.

Moreover, some embodiments also include selecting a predeterminedbehavior model corresponding to an expected member behavior; andinferring the member state from the characteristic member behavior, thepredetermined behavior model, the selected sensed biometric data, or acombination thereof. In certain embodiments, the inferred member stateis a distressed state, and the method also includes generating adistress alert in response to the distressed state; and transmitting adistress alert to a group steward.

Further, other embodiments of the method include selecting apredetermined behavior model corresponding to an expected memberbehavior; characterizing a characteristic member behavior correspondingto the characteristic displacement; inferring a characteristic memberstate from the characteristic member behavior, the predeterminedbehavior model, or both; conditionally generating an alert if thecharacteristic member state corresponds to one of a status alert or adistress alert; and transmitting the alert to a group steward on acondition of the alert being generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graphical illustration of a social group management systemin accordance with embodiments herein;

FIG. 2 is a graphical illustration of an exemplary spatial distributionof a monitored social group, corresponding to the system illustrated inFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a telemetry device in the form of a tag,and a social group management system, used in conjunction with thesocial group management system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 ;

FIG. 4 is a general flow diagram illustrating embodiments of a socialgroup identification, characterization, and inference process, inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a method by which a member wellnessstate can be inferred;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of an inferred member state (breeding)in accordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of an inferred member state(predation) in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure provides embodiments of a social group managementsystem, as well as embodiments of a method for managing a social group.As used herein, social group encompasses a group of any species ofanimal exhibiting social behavior, including vertebrates andinvertebrates. A predetermined member state of a social group member maybe inferred from spatial characteristics of a social group, and of asocial group member relative to the social group. Thus, it is desirableto monitor a spatial distribution of members within a social group andof a spatial displacement of a social group member relative to othersocial group members.

Apparatus and methods described herein may employ an empiricalobservation of a social group member location and a behavior to infer amember wellness state. Empirical observations may be augmented byselected a priori information, preselected models, or predeterminedrules, to determine whether a social group member is positioned withinan expected location, to determine whether a displacement of the socialgroup member corresponds to a variance behavior, or to infer from thesocial group member location or displacement, a wellness state of thesocial group member, Also, empirical spatial and spatiotemporalobservations may be augmented by sensed social group member biometricdata, which data may be used to infer a member wellness state, tosupport an inference of a member wellness state otherwise determined, orto develop behavioral norms and models. In certain embodiments, breedingbehavior may be inferred from sensed spatiotemporal information,including proximity of a breeding sire and breeding dam, whichspatiotemporal information may be augmented by sensed biometric data,including motion data, from the sire, the dam, or both. Spatialpositioning determinations disclosed herein may be augmented by, but donot require, geospatial positioning techniques, such as a CPS technique.

In general, livestock, such as cattle, are social animals that formhierarchical social group based on dominance relationships among socialgroup members. In general, social animals form groups and frequentlyconstrain self-interested behavior, such as survival and reproduction,by maintaining a minimal social distance and participating in groupdefense. Cohesiveness among social group members may vary according tospecies, with a social group being a hierarchically organized group ofsocial animals tending to act in unison without planning orcoordination.

Typically, interactions between social group members are influenced bysocial dominance, in which the behavior of one animal is inhibited oraltered by the presence or threat of another animal. Many suchdominance-subordinate relationships may exist within a social group,often reflecting the hierarchical structure within that social group.Every social group member has an associated, but not immutable, socialgroup rank. A large social group may include multiple subgroups, witheach constituent subgroup having a respective rank and followingrank-appropriate behaviors.

Dominance is a learned and predictable relationship between a pair ofanimals, where one is consistently submissive to the other. Dominancerelationships may develop between members, as well as between subgroups.In general, a dominance hierarchy is model that describes space sharingin a group, arranged on a priority basis that keeps intra-group frictionto a minimum. Once the division of space is complete there is no furtherstrife or challenge to the order unless, for example, a young groupmember reaches sexual maturity or an aged member becomes senescent.

To maintain the hierarchy, every animal in the social group mustrecognize each member of the group, and remember its respectivedominance relationship with other social group members. A member mayexpress its rank within a social group hierarchy, for example, byadopting a subordinate position or posture within the social group, orby maintaining a rank-appropriate distance from a nearby dominantmember. Violation of a dominance protocol by a subordinate member orsubgroup may evoke, at the minimum, an aggressive response by a dominantmember or subgroup. Nevertheless, once established, social dominanceoften is maintained passively. Typically, subordinate animals avoidconflict by monitoring their spatial relationships relative to dominantanimals, and moving away upon the approach of a dominant animal.

Although a significant factor, dominance relationships are notdeterminative of all social group behaviors, or of spatial distributionof members within a social group. In some species, aggressive behaviorscharacteristic of a dominance relationship may appear only duringadverse conditions, or in competitive situations. Many social groupingspecies display complex social behaviors, in addition to dominancerelationships. For example, a social group member may choose to displayan appeasement behavior, such as active submission, to another socialgroup member. Moreover, members of gregarious social grouping speciesalso may form a spectrum of affiliative interrelationships, ranging fromlifelong, mutually-dependent partnerships to functional companionshipsto temporary, ad-hoc affiliations. Strong partnerships may exist betweenrelated subjects as well as between unrelated subjects raised together.Examples of functional companionships include grooming and grazingcompanionships. Such affiliative relationships may encourage clusteringof corresponding social group members. Some social group members mayexhibit significant variability in temperament, social skills, andphysical capabilities, further modifying the range of spatialrelationships among social group members.

In addition, members of grazing social groups typically adjust theirforaging behavior in response to the spatial dynamics of theirenvironment. For example, within a foraging environment there may bepoints, lines, or regions of attraction or repulsion, as well asphysical barriers, which may modify a spatial distribution of a socialgroup as well as expected spatial relationships between social groupmembers. Water, shade, and swales represent examples of naturalattractors; with man-made attractors including food, mineral, and watersupplements. Repulsors can include mounds, dips, unevenly illuminatedareas, and toxic plants among the forage. Trees, washes, fences, andbluffs can be examples of barriers.

Consequently, social group members tend to be spatially distributedwithin a social group, and relative to each other, in a manner consonantwith the foregoing dominance, affiliative, and individual behavioralcharacteristics, and environmental spatial dynamics. Inferred behaviormay be derived from the sensed position of a member relative to a socialgroup of members, in which all members typically exhibit characteristicsof social behavior.

As with most social activity, behavioral norms can be established, anddepartures from normative behavior can be identified. Such behavioralnorms may be established for a social group, a subgroup, or a socialgroup member; and may be modified to accommodate dominance, affiliative,and individual behavioral characteristics, as well as existingenvironmental dynamics. Each member has predefined characteristics,which may be observed, including age, gender, or value. Each member alsohas individual characteristics, which may be inferred, such as health,or distress. A social group can have predefined aggregatecharacteristics, which may be observed and be determinable. The socialgroup also may have one or more characteristic group states, which maybe inferred. Departure from a behavioral norm may indicate an existingor emerging illness, injury, or loss, corresponding to one or moresocial group members. In social grouping animals such as cattle,adherence to, and departure from expected behavioral norms can bereflected in an observed spatial distribution of a social group, as wellas in spatial relationships between social group members. Also, overtime, such observation may allow such behavioral norms to adapt toemerging behavior patterns.

In accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, a predeterminedstate of one or more of a social group member, a social group subgroup,or a social group may be inferred from a corresponding predeterminedspatial distribution observed with respect to a social group, from apredetermined spatial relationship observed between social groupmembers, or both. Non-limiting examples of a predetermined state caninclude a wellness state or a distressed state. Non-limiting examples ofa distressed state can include a breeding state or a predation state.

Turning to FIG. 1 , social group management system 100 can include amonitored social group, generally at 102, spatially distributed in apredetermined observation region 110. For the purposes of illustration,monitored social group 102 is depicted as a cattle herd. In FIG. 1 ,predetermined observation region 110 is shown as being delineated by aphysical boundary in the form of a barrier fence, although region 110does not need to be physically constrained. Disposed within region 110may be one or more attractors such as mineral supplement 125, feedsupplement 130, and shaded water source 135. Positions of social groupmembers 104, alone, as a social subgroup, or as defined social group,may be determined, at least in part, by proximity to such attractors,and by the physiological needs of member 104 satiated by partaking inthe resources represented thereby. In addition, region 110 may containone or more repulsors, represented by wooded area 160, in which predator175 may await.

Social group 102 may be constituted of a plurality of social groupmembers, here represented by social group member 104, with some membersforming determinable social group subgroups 112, 114, for example, by adominance relationship, by an affiliative relationship, by individualbehavioral characteristics, or by a combination thereof.

In general, each social group member 104 is a monitored social groupmember (MSM, or monitored member) bearing a respective incorporatedtelemetry device 300, hereinafter a tag. For the purposes ofillustration, the present disclosure employs cattle as a non-limitingexample of an MSM. However, an MSM may be a member of any species ofanimal exhibiting social behavior, including vertebrates andinvertebrates.

An incorporated telemetry device is a telemetry device coupled inintimate proximity with an MSM, which may be disposed internally orexternally, which may be affixed or removable, and which may be coupledpermanently or impermanently. Accordingly, in certain non-limitingimplementations, a tag may be clipped, pinned, or bound, to, orimplanted within, an MSM corpus. In certain other non-limitingimplementations, a tag may be secured to an MSM as a collar, bracelet,ring, or apparel, or as an ear tag, tail tag, or piercing stud. In yetother non-limiting implementations, a tag may be restrained or moveablewithin a social group member, for example, as a digestive tract bolusdevice, or as a miniature transponder lodged or secured within thecirculatory system, bone, or soft tissue of an MSM. In ruminant MSM suchas cattle, a digestive tract bolus tag may be retained indefinitelywithin the animal. In non-ruminant MSM, a digestive tract bolus devicemay pass through the MSM digestive tract and be eliminated.

FIG. 3 illustrates an incorporated telemetry device embodiment in tag300, which is configured to emit tag beacon 333. Tag 300 may beconfigured to store therein unique ID 317 corresponding to member 104,and to impart unique ID 317 into the emitted tag beacon 333.Transceivers 120, 122, 124 can be representative of a tag beacon sensorconfigured to sense tag beam 333, for example over the predefinedobservation region 110, relative to the effective group boundary 145, orboth. A sensed tag beam 333 may include spatial characteristicscorresponding to a position of member 104 relative to the predefinedobservation region. The spatial characteristics may be includedimplicitly while being detected by two or more of transceivers 120, 122,124. Tag 300 also may impart explicit location information in tag beam333, if so configured. The tag beam sensor may convey sensed tag beamdata to social group supervisor 350, which may analyze the spatialcharacteristics the received tag beacon 333 to determine a physicalposition of member 104 within region 110. Supervisor 350 may receive atag beacon 333 from each member 104 of defined social group 102.Supervisor 350 also may be configured to receive selected tag beacons333 from selected members 104 of defined social group 102.

Conveniently, tag 300 can be configured to convey unique ID 317 asmember identification that is globally unique, or unique within apredetermined context, such as within group 102, within an aggregationof related groups 102 in a large commercial enterprise, or groups 102identified with a defined region under the control of an administrativebody. In implementations of system 100 in which tag 300 may be used touniquely identify each member 104 of social group 102, supervisor 350also may use an aggregation of receive tag beacons 333 to determine aroster of members 104 from social group 102 detected within region 110,within effective group boundary 145, or a combination thereof. Inaddition, supervisor 350 also may be configured to detect or identify aninterloper, that is, a member of a social group other than group 102. Inthe context of a cattle herd, non-limiting examples of an interloper mayinclude a rogue bull from a neighboring herd, or even an animalpurloined from a different herd.

Social group supervisor 350 may use an aggregation of received tagbeacons 333 to determine one or more of a social group location withinregion 110, effective group boundary 145 of defined social group 102, aspatial distribution of social group 102 within region 110, a spatialdistribution of social group 102 within effective group boundary 145, ora combination thereof. In addition, supervisor 350 may use a selectedaggregation of received tag beacons 333 to determine a location of oneor more subgroups 112, 114 within region 110; a spatial distribution ofsubgroups 112, 114 within region 110; a spatial distribution ofsubgroups 112, 114 within effective group boundary 145; a subgroupdisplacement of one or more of subgroups 112, 114, relative to group102, other subgroups 112, 114, or both; an effective subgroup boundary116, 117 of respectively subgroups 112, 114; or a combination thereof.Also, supervisor 350 can determine a relative displacement of one ormore members 104 relative to a reference position within region 110, toa reference position within effective group boundary 145, to a positionof a subgroup 112, 114, to a position of one or more other members 104,or a combination thereof.

In general, members 104 of social group 102 position themselves,relative to other members 104, in accordance with forgoing socialbehavior and relationship principles. It can be advantageous for socialgroup supervisor 350 to perform for spatial distribution processing ofsensed positional information corresponding to received tag beacons 333,and to apply a behavioral model corresponding to sensed spatialdistributions of group 102, subgroups 112, 114, or individual members104, within region 110, effective group boundary 145, or both.Supervisor 350 also may adaptively form one or more behavioral modelsfrom positional information sensed during successive observations orover a predefined observation interval. One suitable positionalinformation may be an intermember displacement.

An intermember displacement may describe an identifiable displacementbetween adjacent members 104, as defined by a predetermined displacementrule, for example, in a social group management computer program,operating on supervisor 350. Although the predetermined displacementrule may be provided as a preselected displacement, it also may be apredetermined adaptive displacement rule, which may dynamically derive avalue for an intermember displacement from a sensed social group spatialdistribution, using a preselected displacement as a boundary or initialvalue.

It can be advantageous to determine more than one measure of anintermember displacement. In one example, it may be useful to identifyunit intermember displacement 150, as may be derived from a mean spatialseparation between respective member tags 300, such as between members106 and 108. Subgroup intermember displacement 153 may be determined asa measure of mean spatial separation between subgroups 112, 114. Unitintermember displacement 150 also may be derived from an average spatialseparation between members of social group 102. In another example, itmay be useful to identify maximum intermember displacement (MID) 155, asa maximum acceptable spatial separation between adjacent members, suchas between members 116 and 118. In selected implementations, MID 155 maybe used to dynamically determine effective group boundary 145.

Beneficially, one or more intermember displacements, including MID 155,may be used by supervisor 350 to infer a predetermined group wellnessstate of social group 102, a predetermined subgroup wellness state ofsubgroup 112, 114, a predetermined member wellness state of member 104,or a combination thereof. Pursuant to inferring a wellness state of agroup, subgroup, or member, supervisor 350 may be configured todetermine a behavior of the respective group, subgroup, or member fromone or more intermember displacements.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, social groupsupervisor 350 can be configured to sense a displacement of a member 104relative to group 102, or subgroup 112, 114, and to infer a wellnessstate from the sensed displacement. A wellness state can be a wellmember state or a distressed member state. Moreover, system 100 candetermine a corresponding behavior in response to the senseddisplacement. A determined member behavior may be a compliance behavioror a variance behavior. Social group supervisor 350 can be configured totransmit an alert over network 390 to portable wireless device 375.Device 375 may display the alert thereby evoking an alert response, forexample, by a group authority such as a social group steward, a socialgroup manager, or a predetermined social group authority. Supervisor 350may transmit a distress alert, if a predetermined distressed memberstate is inferred, or a situation alert, if a predetermined well memberstate is inferred. A situation alert also may be transmitted in responseto a sensed behavior denoted to be of interest, although an adversemember state may not be inferred.

It may be desirable for social group supervisor 350 to infer apredetermined subgroup wellness state of a social subgroup, such assubgroup 112. Examples of a predetermined subgroup wellness stateinclude a well subgroup state and a distressed subgroup state. It may bedesirable to monitor breeding behavior of female members of social group102, for example, to detect an inability to conceive, “catch.” When afemale cattle, such as female member 172, enters estrus, or heat, malemembers 174, 176, and 178, may cluster close to female 172, formingsubgroup 112, and may engage in identifiable sexual behaviors.Typically, to engage in such behaviors, adjacent members are positionedwith an intermember displacement generally less than unit intermemberdisplacement 150. In addition, relative positions of subgroup 112members may correspond to subgroup spatial distribution indicative of abreeding behavior.

Also, such behaviors include a temporal component, because they mayoccur at identifiable intervals and may evolve in an identifiabletemporal sequence. Accordingly, supervisor 350 may be configured toprocess spatial distribution information received over an observationinterval in tag beacons 333 from respective tags 300 of group andsubgroups members, in this example, members 172, 174, 176, and 178.Supervisor 350 can evaluate received temporal-spatial data, and identifya breeding behavioral model as corresponding to sensed displacements ofsubgroup 112 members 172, 174, 176, and 178, during the observationinterval.

Breeding behavior may not be indicative of a distressed member orsubgroup state; although such behavior may be a predetermined wellmember or subgroup state for which social group supervisor 350 maytransmit a situation alert to a group authority. However, over time,female member 172 may engage in repetitive breeding behaviors withoutconceiving, for example, each month for three or more months. Arepetitive breeding behavior may be a result of a disease, an injury, ora physical anomaly. Social group management system can be configured tomonitor behavior over time, for example, by storing sensed and behaviordata, and by comparing a current sensed data or a current behavior, withstored data. Social group supervisor 350 may identify a repetitivebreeding behavior, from which a distressed member state may be inferred,and in response, may transmit a distressed state alert, corresponding tomember 172 or to subgroup 112, without limitation, to a social groupsteward, to a social group manager, or to a predetermined social groupauthority.

Also in subgroup 112, members 182 and 184 may be male memberspositioning themselves in an aggressive posture, relative to each other.For example, member 182 may position his torso generally perpendicularto the torso of member 184. During the course of sensing locations ofrespective members of social group 102, sensed tag beacons 333corresponding to members 182 and 184, may indicate development ofaggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior may be related toaforementioned breeding behavior, or may correspond to other factorsincluding restructuring of a dominance relationship, interloping,disease, or fouled forage. If an aggressive behavioral model is selectedin response to the sensed locations of members 182, 184, it may bedesirable for social group supervisor 350 to closely monitor behaviorwhich may be evolving between members 182 and 184. In selectedembodiments, social group supervisor 350 may be configured to monitorlocations of members 182 and 184 more frequently than locations of othermembers of social group 102. If sensed locations of respective tags 300correspond to an aggression behavior model for members 182 and 184, itmay be advantageous to infer a distressed member or subgroup state fromthe observed aggression behavior. One or both of members 182, 184 may bedesignated as distressed members, for which a distress alert may betransmitted, without limitation, to a social group steward, to a socialgroup manager, or to a predetermined social group authority.

Tag 300 can be a passive tag, an active tag, or a combination thereof. Apassive tag does not include an internal power source. In someimplementations, a passive tag may rely on energy transferred from a tagreader to actuate tag circuitry and to produce a passive tag response.For example, a passive radiofrequency (RF) tag may be energized byincident RF energy, which provides sufficient power to operate internaltag circuitry and to produce a passive tag response. However, certainpassive tag implementations may not require RF energy, or have internaltag circuitry. An optical passive tag may be a stripe, spot, ordistinctive indicia, which may bear a predetermined color coding, whichcan produce an optical passive tag response, when incident light energyis reflected from the optical passive tag.

In a passive tag system, tag 300 may be energized by energy inherent ina probe query transmitted by transceivers 120, 122, 124. In response toa probe query, passive tag 300 emits tag beacon 333 as a passive proberesponse. Tag beacon 333 may can be received by transceivers 120, 122,124 by tag 300 to a probe query by transceivers 120, 122, 124.Transceivers 120, 122, 124 may employ, without limitation, atriangulation technique well-known in the art of livestock management,to facilitate position determination of tag beacon 333, andcorresponding member 104, by supervisor 350. In this way, the uniqueidentity and location of each member 104 of social group 102 may beascertained, and corresponding spatial distributions may be determined.A well-known retrodirective interrogation-response locating techniquealso may be used. Tag beacon 333 can transmit a unique identification317 corresponding to the respective social group member 104 to whichpassive tag 300 is coupled. However, it may be desirable to employ anactive tag system to monitor a member, subgroup, or group wellnessstate, using a wider range of contemporaneous information, such asbiometric data.

An active tag is self-powered and typically employs an internal powersource to operate internal tag circuitry and to produce an active tagresponse. Internal tag circuitry may include, without limitation,sensing, processing, or communication circuitry. Non-limiting examplesof an active tag power source include a battery, a photovoltaic cell, athermoelectric power source, or a piezoelectric power source. An activetag may be capable of sensing, monitoring, or processing autonomously orsemi-autonomously, and of communicating with local or remote supervisorysystems.

In an active tag system, tag 300 may emit tag beacon 333 as an activeprobe response, and may be configured to do so with or without a queryby social group supervisor 350. For example, an active tag 300 may emittag beacon 333 substantially continuously, or may only transmit tagbeacon 333 in response to an active probe from transceivers 120, 122,124. In another example, in response to a predetermined condition ofmember 104, active tag 300 may be configured to operate in areduced-power mode or to emit tag beacon 333. Similar to a passive tagin a passive tag system, an active tag 300 can impart to tag beacon 333,unique member identification corresponding to member 104 to which tag300 is coupled. Member identification may be globally or locally unique,as described above. Beneficially, active tag 300 may be configured tosense biological functions of member 104 and to transmit sensedbiometric data in tag beacon 333. Transmitted respective memberbiometric data may be received by one or more of transceivers 120, 122,124, and be relayed to social group supervisor 350.

Similar to operation of a passive tag system, a location of active tagbeacon 333 may be determined by transceivers 120, 122, 124 usingwell-known radio beacon triangulation or interrogation-response locatingtechnique. However, an active tag 300 may be configured to use tagbeacon 333 to communicate with a wireless network system, of whichsocial group supervisor 350 may be a constituent element. Suchcommunication may include bidirectional communication between tag 300and supervisor 350, thereby facilitating therebetween activation, datatransfer, updating, and interrogation-response communications. Inselected embodiments, for example, active tag 300 may be configured tooperate in accordance with a low-power IEEE 802.15.4 WPAN communicationprotocol, which may facilitate long battery life in tag 300, whileproviding communications and high-precision ranging. Transceivers 120,122, 124 can communicate with tag 300 using a WPAN communicationprotocol, and also may be configured to communicate using other wirelessprotocols, with supervisor 350, with a portable wireless device, orboth.

A suitable wireless network system may operate in accordance with one ormore of wireless personal area network (WPAN) protocol, a wireless localarea network (WLAN) protocol, a wireless metropolitan area network(WMAN) protocol, or a wide-area network (WAN) protocol. A non-limitingexample of a WPAN IEEE Std. 802.15.4 communication protocol can be aZigBee™ communication protocol, promulgated by the ZigBee™ Alliance, SanRamon, CA, USA. Non-limiting examples of WLAN protocols, in the UnitedStates, include those families of wireless communication protocolscorresponding to IEEE Std. 802.11 (e.g., WiFi® WLAN protocol), and IEEEStd. 802.15 (e.g., Bluetooth® WPAN protocol). Non-limiting examples of aWMAN protocol, in the United States, includes those families of wirelesscommunication protocols corresponding to IEEE Std. 802.16 (WiMAX® WMANprotocol) and IEEE 802.20 (Mobile Broadband Wireless Access protocol).Non-limiting examples of a WAN protocol include those families ofwireless communication protocols corresponding to wireless mobile WANstandards commonly called 2.5 G (e.g., HSCSD, EDGE, or GPRS protocols),and 3 G (e.g., IMT-2000 protocol families). The foregoing wirelessprotocols are merely exemplary, so that the present disclosurecontemplates use of other suitable wireless protocols in use or indevelopment in other global regions (e.g., WiBRO™ in Korea).

Tag 300 may represent a multi-element tag system, which may be anintegrated multi-element tag system, or a discrete multi-element tagsystem. In an integrated multi-element tag system, tag 300 includestherein functional elements of both an active tag and a passive tag.Such elements may operate in concert or independently. In a discretemulti-element tag system, tag 300 may be a multi-element tag systememploying a discrete active tag and a discrete passive tag, which mayoperate in concert or independently. In an example of a multi-elementtag system, member 104 may bear an active tag, such as a powered ear tagcapable of autonomously transmission, and a passive tag, such as acolored stripe, capable of being optically detected, for example, bysatellite or aerial observation.

Conveniently, one or more of transceivers 120, 122, 124, andinterrogation supervisor 350 may be discrete elements of a large scaleradio tracking system, or be integrated into a portable or handheldwireless device. A large scale radio tracking system, for example, usinga WAN network, may allow remote communication with active tags 300 overa large region. A portable wireless device, for example, using a WLANnetwork, which may facilitate on-site monitoring of social group members104 and social group 102, for example, by a social group steward orhandler. As is known in the wireless communication arts, a portablewireless device can be configured in a “dual-band” mode, by which acommunication mode of a portable wireless device may selected between aWPAN/WLAN/WMAN mode and a WAN mode, and thus may be capable, forexample, of ZigBee™ WPAN communications, WiFi® WLAN communications, andGSM mobile communications.

Beneficially, tag 300 may incorporate a global navigation satellitesystem transponder, and be configured to determine a correspondingglobally-unique geospatial position (GUGP). Tag 300 may incorporate GUGPdata into tag beacon 333, so that supervisor 350 may determine thegeospatial position of member 104, to which tag 300 is affixed.Non-limiting examples of a global navigation satellite system, suitablefor use by tag 300 can include the NAVSTAR Global Positioning System(GPS); the GLONASS satellite system, the Galileo Navigation System, orthe Beidou Navigation System. It is contemplated that tag 300 may bemodified to accommodate other global navigation satellite systems whichmay be implemented. It may be beneficial for tag 300 to generate andtransmit GUGP data, for example, when member 104, or group 102 may bedispersed over a large geographic area.

It may be advantageous for active tag 300 to sense biometric datacorresponding to one or more members 104 of social group 102. Active tag300 may include one or more biostate sensors 330, 332, 334, 336, whichcan detect one or more respective biological states of member 104 towhich tag 300 may be attached. In general, a biostate sensor, such assensors 330, 332, 334, and 336 may produce respective sensed biometricdata representative of the one or more respective biological states. Itmay be desirable to couple tag 300 to a portion of member 104 in alocation that may be both convenient for attachment and proximate to atleast one biometric source. In FIG. 3 , tag 300 is attached to ear 333of member 104, and generally proximate to an arterial blood vessel 310.Other locations and biometric data sources may be used, of course.Sensed biometric data corresponding to member 104 may be transmitted byactive tag 300 to supervisor 350, for example using a suitable wirelessnetwork system. Supervisor 350 may use the sensed biometric data torefine a selection of a behavior model represented by locationinformation corresponding to a member, a subgroup, a social group, or acombination thereof. In selected embodiments, sensed biometric data frombiostate sensors 330, 340 may be used to identify a distressed member, avariance behavior, or both, without inference, if supervisor 350 is soconfigured. Such capabilities may permit rapid notification of anemerging problem or disease corresponding to an adverse member state,and may facilitate timely intervention to correct or ameliorate theundesired member state.

Non-limiting examples of a biological state of member 104 may be akinematic state or a thermal state. A kinematic state may correspond toa posture, a motion, a sound, or a combination thereof, and may bedetected by one or more of an accelerometer sensor 330, a wave motionsensor 334, or an acoustic sensor 336. Sensed data produced by one ormore of sensors 330, 334, 336 can be transformed into an electricalsignal suitable for transformation and transmission by tag 300 totransceivers 120, 122, 124 by way of tag beacon 333.

Non-limiting examples of identifiable postures in cattle may be a headlowered or turned back against the body, or a rigid posture, and mayinclude changes in posture. A lowered head may be exhibited bydistressed member 190, in response to predator 175. Another posture maybe a sleeping posture in which the member's head may be turned backtowards its body. Rigid posture may indicate pain or a death state.Non-limiting examples of a motion in cattle may be a tongue movement, afacial expression, grinding of teeth, or inappropriate contact withother members. Distressed member 190 may extend its tongue or make afacial gesture in response to predator 175. Grinding of teeth bydistressed member 190 may indicate pain due to an injury or a disease.Distressed member 190 may engage in inappropriate contact with anothermember, for example, expressing aggression or variant sexual conduct(e.g., buller steer syndrome). Motions on a different scale of size maybe sensed and identified as well. For example, another non-limitingexample of a motion may be motion of blood vessel 310 proximate to acoupling site of tag 300, indicative of an elevated heart rate, anelevated blood pressure, or both.

A non-limiting example of a sound can be a vocalization. Social animals,such as cattle, can produce discrete vocalizations corresponding tobehavioral or affective states. In general, a vocalized sound can beconsidered as an episodic mechanical (vibrational) signal, having awaveform characteristic of the entity generating the sound. Non-limitingexamples of waveform characteristics may include, duration, resonancecharacteristics, amplitude envelope, inharmonicity, onset asynchronypitch, and frequency modulation. Resonance characteristics include thefrequencies and bandwidths of vocal formants; amplitude envelopecharacteristics include attack, decay, and tremolo characteristics; andfrequency modulation characteristics include vibrato and jitter. Socialanimal vocalizations may be characterized and modeled, and such modelsmay be stored, for example, in memory of supervisor 350, such that whena mechanical signal representative of a predetermined vocalization isreceived, the represented vocalization can be identified and abehavioral state corresponding to the source member may be ascertained.In the case of distressed member 190, a vocalization characteristic offear, calf locating, companion seeking, or a perception of predation maybe emitted in response to predator 175. The vocalization can be sensedby a displacement state sensor, such as accelerometer sensor 330, a wavemotion sensor 334, or an acoustic sensor 336, transformed into acorresponding electromagnetic signal, and transmitted by active tag 300.Other sensed vocalizations also may be detected and transmitted tosupervisor 350.

Another non-limiting example of a sensed biometric sound can include aningestive sound, such as biting, chewing, ruminating, or swallowing abolus of food. Ingestive sounds can be quasi-periodic and can possessidentifiable waveform characteristics corresponding to a feed rate,feeding efficiency, or digestive conditions, among others. Suchbiometric sound data may be useful in determining feed rate, a healthstate, or a behavioral state of member 104. Other non-limiting examplesof biometric sounds can include grunting, sounds related to groomingactivities, aggressive contact between the subject source and anothermember of the group, and blood flow through an arterial blood vessel.

Alone or in combination, sensed kinematic biometric data may provideempirical evidence of an inferred member state, and may be a directindication of a member distress state.

Of course, a skilled artisan will realize that a kinematic state sensorcan be configured to perform one or more of the functions effected bysensors 330, 332, or 334. For example, accelerometer sensor 330 may beconfigured with multiple accelerometers joined in alignment topredetermined orientations, for example, three accelerometers joined inan orthogonal alignment. Such an accelerometer sensor 330 may be capableof detecting a posture or a motion corresponding to member 104. Inaddition, accelerometer sensor 330 may be configured to respond tokinematic states of varying scales of size, including large scalemotions (body movement), mid-scale motions (head, tongue, or earmovement), micro-scale motions (heart rate, bone-conducted sound,particular muscular movements), or a combination thereof. Accelerometersensor may be configured to produce a data stream representative of thesensed kinematic activity of member 104 for one or more scales of size.

A thermal state may be sensed by a miniature thermocouple or otherthermal sensing device, sensitive to biological temperature variationsproximate to a coupling site of tag 300. For example, in cattle,suitable thermal data may be sensed from auricular blood vessels, suchas blood vessel 310. Sensed thermal data may be transformed into anelectrical signal suitable for transmission by tag beacon 333 to bereceived by supervisor 350. A sensed thermal state may be indicative ofhealth, disease, dehydration, estrus, or other biological statesaffecting a body temperature of member 104, and may empirically supportan inference of, or directly indicate, a distressed member state.

Other biological states of member 104, and combinations thereof, may bemonitored using biosensors incorporated into active tag 300. Tag 300 maytransmit a multi-band or multi-dimensional signal stream in tag beacon333, which may be divided into constituent frequency band streams, befiltered to extract relevant signals, including kinematic, thermal, orother biometric signals, and be processed to characterize the biometricdata embedded therein. Sensed biometric data may be selectively sensedto identify preselected problems corresponding to a distressed memberstate. In response, supervisor 350 may be configured to determine abehavior from the respective processed data streams, alone or incombination with a spatial configuration or a spatial displacement; toinfer a wellness state of a member, a subgroup, or a group from thedetermined behavior; and to provide a perceptible indication theinferred wellness state.

Sensed biometric data also may be sampled and stored periodically forlongitudinal monitoring of member 104, subgroup 112, 114, or group 102.Periodic sampling may occur during at least a part of a diurnal cycle, abreeding cycle, a calendar period, or a solar season, to characterizebehaviors of members, subgroups, and social groups. Biometric data maybe sensed, sampled and stored aperiodically, as well. Such data trackingmay be performed, for example, to develop normative data values, totrack and adapt to seasonal, aging, or breed trends, or to conductprospective or retrospective analysis of member 104, subgroup 112, 114,or group 102.

Such sensed data may be used in conjunction with other data pertainingto a monitored member 104, for example, gender, date of birth, lineage,weight, point of origin, geographic locations of previous groups,breeding status, market value, feed preferences, or data of interest,for longitudinal characterization of social group behavior statevariations, subgroup typing or preferences, or stereotyped breed socialbehavior identification. It may be desirable to store selected data formember 104 in trace record 377. On a social group level, aggregatedbiometric data sensed from members of social group 102 may support aninference of group stress, for example, due to predation, to exhaustedresources such as food, water, or mineral supplement, or to spread ofdisease among social group members. Trace record 377 may be used totrace characteristics of one or both of group 102 or subgroup 112, 114.For example, trace record 377 may be configured to collect and maintainselected data regarding an individual member 104 from conception toproduction or destruction, thereby providing an evidentiary chain whichmay assist in identifying disease sources, member wellness, ormisappropriation corresponding to the respective member lifespan.

In general, a tag beacon is emitted within an observation space by eachtag coupled to a representative member of a defined social group. Inaccordance with the foregoing, an active tag 300 may emit tag beacon 333continuously, at predefined intervals, in response to a sensed memberstate, or as a result of an active tag probe by supervisor 350 viatransceiver 120, 122, 124. Tag 300 may push data to supervisor 350, ormay wait to be polled by supervisor 350 before transmitting data. Also,a tag beacon displacement can correspond to an intermember displacementof a member relative to another member, to a subgroup, or to the definedsocial group 102. Therefore, a position of member 104 in monitoredregion 110 may be indicated by a corresponding spatial location of tagbeacon 333, or a tag beacon displacement.

Tag beacon 333 may be represented in a sensed observation space(relative), in a predefined geospatial region (absolute), or both. Aneffective group boundary may be a non-limiting example of a relativeobservation space, and a physically-defined implementation of region 110may be a non-limiting example of an absolute observation space. A sensedobservation space may be mapped to a predefined geospatial region, andvice versa, by a technique known as registration. Other geospatialinformation may be mapped to an observation space, including attractorand repulsor location information.

A tag beacon cluster generally represents two or more proximatelydisposed members 104. For example, a tag beacon cluster may represent arespective identified subgroup, such as subgroups 112, 114, an emergentgroup of two or more members 104, or the defined social group 102. A tagbeacon cluster may be represented in a sensed observation space(relative), a predefined geospatial region (absolute), or both. A sensedobservation space may be mapped by registration to a predefinedgeospatial region. A tag beacon cluster configuration may represent anaggregate characteristic spatial distribution of identifiable members104 in, or relative to, a defined social group 102 or a social subgroup112, 114. A group behavior may correspond to, and be inferred from, atag beacon cluster configuration in a sensed observation space. A groupbehavior may be considered a characteristic of an individual member 104of group 102.

It may be advantageous to provide rustle alert sensor 115 in a locationof region 110 where unauthorized egress of one or more members 104 ofsocial group 102 is likely to occur, for example, at a road or atrailhead. Sensor 115 can be configured to sense a tag beacon 333, todetect passage of one or more members 104 of social group 102, to readunique member identification from tag 300 from tag beacon 333, and tocause a rustle alert including the unique member identification to betransmitted by social group supervisor 350, for example, to a socialgroup authority, including a law enforcement, regulatory, oradministrative body. Sensor 115 may employ a wireless communicationprotocol, and may use one of more of transceivers 120, 122, 124 to relaythe alert to supervisor 350. Rustle alert sensor 115 may be disposed atother locations, for example, public highways and truck stops, so thatpurloined members may be tracked until recovered.

FIG. 2 is a logical depiction of a virtual image 200 corresponding toentities in FIG. 1 with like reference numbers. FIG. 2 may represent avirtual social group, in which received tag beacons 333 representrespective known virtual members, and which may be analyzed in realtime, or near-real-time, to observe member behaviors and to infer awellness state of respective members thereby. Initially, transceivers120, 122, 124 may scan or sense tag beacons 333 from tags 300 coupled torespective members 104 of social group 102, thereby forming (S405) asensed image. An “image” is used in the sense of a physical or virtualrepresentation of a property or an entity in two or more dimensions. Animage may describe a spatial distribution of a physical property, likereflectivity, which can be transformed or mapped to a differentproperty. Typically, sensed image 200 in FIG. 2 is representative ofspatially-distributed, and potentially overlapping, tag beacons 333transmitted by tags 300 of members 104, and detected by transceivers120, 122, 124. Each tag beacon 333 may be represented within groupcluster 200. The aggregation of tag beacons 333 of group 102 may berepresented as group duster 202.

Group cluster configuration, generally at 204, can provide spatialdistribution and configuration about group 102, with respect to aphysical observation region, such as region 110 (as symbolicallyrepresented by region icon 250), with respect to a virtual observationregion, such as effective group boundary 145 (as symbolicallyrepresented by boundary icon 252), or with respect to both. Othergeospatial information may be represented in image 200. In addition,image 200 may contain member grouping data, including representation ofsubgroup 112, 114. Group cluster configuration 204 may have both anidentifiable spatial characteristic at a selected observation, and anidentifiable spatiotemporal characteristic over a selected observationperiod. One or both of the identifiable spatial characteristic or theidentifiable spatiotemporal characteristic can indicate group behavior.During an observation period, initial and final positions of each groupmember 104 may be identified by detecting and characterizingcorresponding tag beacons 333 and tag beacon clusters, including groupcluster 202. In addition, a respective displacement vector may bedetermined indicating the distance and direction traveled by groupmember 104 during the observation period. In the aggregate, sensed tagbeacons 333 from each member 104, subgroup 112, 114, and group 102 mayform identifiable spatial distributions, indicative of a group behaviorfrom which wellness state inferences may be drawn.

As depicted in FIG. 3 , supervisor 350 may include an I/O channel 320 bywhich to receive from transceivers 120, 122, 124, as serial digital datarepresentative of sensed tag beacons 333 and to send the data to CPU 322to facilitate processing. Supervisor 350 also may have secondary andstorage memory 324, which may be used in conjunction with CPU 322 fordata processing. Coupled to CPU 322 and memory 324 may be spatial dataclassifier 371, behavior classifier 373, inference engine 375, and adatabase function, such as trace record database 377, in which may bestored behavior information, behavior models, demographic information,biometric information, or other pertinent information. Social groupsupervisor 350 manage trace record database 377 so that informationpertaining to member 104, subgroup 112, 114, or group 102 may becollected, arranged, updated, and stored. Such information may includepredetermined attributes, empirical observations and determinations, anddynamic data, including sensed biometric data.

Social group supervisor 350 may be configured to selectively collect,record and maintain in trace database 377 information corresponding to,without limitation, selected spatial configurations; expected locations,grouping, movement, or behaviors; subgroup configurations andpreferences; seasonal variations; geospatial information; expectedconsumption rates of food, water, and mineral supplements; species,lineage, breed attributes; chain of ownership, residence, ortransportation; medical, inoculation, health maintenance, and treatmentnorms, histories, and expectations; biological attributes; past,current, or expected breeding behavior; empirical, inferential, orpredictive metrics, rules, and expectations; boundary conditions; orother selected information identified as being beneficial to socialgroup management. Also, social group supervisor 350 may use trace recorddatabase 377 to formulate physiological, behavioral, sociological, andenvironmental norms, models, and rules, which may be used to determine abehavior or infer a wellness state of one or more of member 104,subgroup 112, 114, or group 102. Trace record database 377 also may beused by one or more of spatial data classifier 371, behavior classifier373, or inference engine 375. In addition, social group supervisor 350may manage trace record database 377 adaptively.

Classifiers 371 and 373 may function alone, or may cooperativelyinteract to identify behaviors of member 104, subgroup 112, 114, orgroup 102 from sensed tag beacon data, alone or in combination withinformation maintained in trace record database 377. Moreover, inferenceengine 375 may be used to infer a member wellness state, a subgroupwellness state, a group wellness state, or a combination thereof.Alerter 326 may generate and transmit alert 360 over network 390 forreceipt by a group authority, such as a group steward. Group authoritymay operate a portable wireless device 395, by which to receive alertsand group-related information. In an instance in which a distressedmember state can be inferred, alert 360 may be a distress alertcorresponding to the identified distressed member, such as member 190.Alerter 326 also may generate and transmit alert 360 as a status alert,for preselected member wellness states other than distressed. Bygenerating and transmitting alert 360 according to predetermined alertrules, supervisor 350 may provide rapid notice of a distress state to asocial group steward, and may enable prompt and timely intervention. Oneor more of classifiers 371, 373, or inference engine 375 may beimplemented in hardware, in software, or in an effective combinationthereof.

In certain embodiments, group spatial distribution may be characterizedusing simple bit map analysis techniques, well-known in the art of imageanalysis. For example, region 110 may be modeled as a bitmap field, witha rectangular grid having generally evenly-spaced horizontal andvertical lines intersecting at predetermined Cartesian positions. Eachpoint of intersection, or region proximate to such intersection, may beassigned a predetermined value. An image bit, representing tag beacon333 for a corresponding group member 104 may be assigned such a value,if present at a corresponding intersection in the bit map field. In theaggregate, a bitmap representative of group cluster 202 in FIG. 2 can beassigned a unique image identification number based on the presence orabsence of an image bit (tag beacon 333) at the predetermined Cartesianpositions.

Similarly, tag beacons 133 representing members 104 of group 102 may besensed and aligned in proximity to a respective predetermined Cartesianposition in a bitmap field corresponding to region 110. Geographicallocations, including attractors and repulsors, may be overlaid on thebit map representative of group cluster 202. Bit map locations may beweighted, for example, to indicate a presence of an attractor or arepulsor, with the proximity of member 104 or subgroup 112, 114 bringrepresented in a weighted bit position value. Each spatial distributionof tag beacons 333 within region 110 may be assigned a unique groupbehavior ID. Member clustering such as with subgroup 112 and 114 alsomay be represented generally within the group behavior ID, and mayinfluence the behavior ID value. Selected group behavior IDs may be usedto infer a group distress state for group 102. Thus, it may be possibleto identify a group behavior at selected observation, and to identify achange in group, subgroup, or member behavior over an observationperiod, using a simple bitmap image analysis technique. However, it mustbe understood that FIG. 2 is a logical representation having graphicalcharacteristics of a visual image, which does not imply that graphicaldeterminations, similar to the aforementioned bitmap analysis technique,need to be used to determine behavior or to infer a wellness state ofone or more of member 104, subgroup 112, 114, or group 102. A bitmaptechnique may be insufficient where a rich data set corresponds to eachmember 104 of group 102.

FIG. 4 illustrates example image processing methods by which member 104,and group 102 may be identified from a sensed spatial data streamcorresponding to group tag cluster 202, which may contain spatiotemporaldata, biometric data, or both. It may be desirable to analyze spatialdata corresponding to group tag cluster 202, so that individual members104 and subgroups 112, 114, may be discerned. Once identified, datavectors corresponding to each uniquely identified and spatially locatedmember 104 of group 102 may be generated for behavior analysis andwellness state inference. FIG. 4 is described within the context ofFIGS. 1-3 .

It may be desirable to perform, for example, morphological imageprocessing (S410) on the aggregation of received tag beacons 333.Processing S410 may include detecting (S412) features in the imagefield, which may correspond to a member 104 and extracting (S414)detected features as potential ones of members 104. It may be desirableto refine data corresponding to extracted features, facilitatingselecting (S416) image features most likely to represent members 104.Tag beacons 333 from related members 104 may contain informationfacilitating the process of correlating (S418) member 104 with a likelyfeature. Tag beacons 333 typically include unique member identification,which may correspond to a data set for each member 104, and which may beassigned to a selected image feature in identifying (S420) member 104 ofgroup 102. Process actions (S412, S414, S416, and S418) may be repeatediteratively as data from tag beacons 333 are received from region 110,although one or more of these actions may be omitted from processingS410. Desirably, morphological image processing S410 can produce aroster of identified individual members 104 of group 102, which may beused to determine whether one or more members 104 is absent from region110 occupied by group 102. In order to facilitate identification ofsubgroups, such as subgroups 112, 114, it may be desirable to performfeature segmentation (S422) on the features corresponding to individualand clusters of tag beacon 333 signals. Morphological image processingtechniques are well-known in the signal processing art.

Once individual members 104 and group 102 are identified, members 104who are proximate, or neighboring members, may be determined, accordingto predetermined proximity analysis technique (S430). Technique S430 maybe performed iteratively and recursively to identify subgroups 112, 114within group 102. Because proximity among group members may changedynamically, it is desirable that predetermined proximity technique(S430) be adaptive over successive observation periods. Accordingly, itcan be advantageous to employ a mean lineal intercept method astechnique S430, which may provide a simple technique to recognize asubgroup 112, 114, yet adapt to a fluid society of members 104, whichevolve over time. In an alternative proximity analysis technique (S430),an observation region may be modeled as an aggregation of neighboringcells or grains, in which group 102 is spatially distributed. Technique430 may identify members 104 within a respective cell or grain, and maydetermine a member displacement from a location of a member 104 within arespective cell or grain, relative to one or more other members 104,subgroup 112, 114, or group 102. The member displacement of member 104may be a variance behavior, if member 104 is located outside of apredetermined cell or grain, or if the magnitude of the displacementindicates that member 104 has strayed too far from a correspondingsubgroup 112, 114, or from group 104. Such an alternative proximityanalysis technique is well-known in those arts in which mappingtechniques are employed.

Conveniently, proximity analysis may facilitate selection of featurescorresponding to a subgroup (S432). As subgroups are identified, theirrespective characteristics may be correlated (S434) with characteristicsof known subgroups, or may be associated with an emergent subgroup.Correlation (S434) can facilitate known subgroup identification (S436),which also may include identification and characterization of anemergent subgroup. Collectively, by identifying individual members andsubgroups, a “group” can be identified (S440).

It is desirable to characterize a member behavior on the basis ofobserved spatial characteristics of one or more members 104, of subgroup112, 114, and of group 102. Accordingly, information regarding members104 of herd 102 may be characterized by a spatial-behavioral mapper(S450). Such information may include, without limitation, spatial data,spatio-temporal data, biometric data, and demographic data. In selectedembodiments, it can be advantageous to characterize behavior of members104 of group 102 by observing interactions among individual members 104,which may lead to dynamic spatio-temporal aggregate behavior of group102. Therefore, spatial-behavioral mapping (S450) may employ one or moremodeling techniques generally related to a discrete element method(DEM). In general, DEM techniques are a family of related techniquesdesigned to solve problems in which elements may exhibit gross motionand in which two elements may be considered as interacting while nottouching. Any element within a defined interaction range of anotherelement will be considered as interacting. Typical DEM techniques tendto be predictive, in that group properties, group behaviors and othergroup phenomena may be determined from the known state of the elementsconstituting the group. In a general, discrete element method analysis,each discrete element is allowed to move relative to other discreteelements during operation of the modeling process. The outcome of themodeling process may be influenced by characteristics of thecorresponding data vector, by constraining forces, by adaptivecharacteristics, and by boundary conditions. Successive iterations of adiscrete element modeling process may provide insight into expecteddiscrete element transformation and movement.

While prediction suggests an output on the basis of a known input,empirical analysis may provide insight into an input on the basis of anobserved output. In an empirical analysis, a spatial or spatiotemporalconfiguration of an observed group may be used to identify individualmember behavior. Accordingly, it may be advantageous to perform anempirical DEM analysis technique by which to determine from spatialcharacteristics of group 102, a behavior of member 104 from group 102.In selected embodiments of an empirical DEM method, as may be used forspatial-behavioral mapping (S450) an observed group outcome is observedbefore analysis. The observed group outcome may have identifiablespatial characteristics, which may suggest behaviors of selected members104. Also, some a priori information or expectations may be known abouteach member 104, at the start of the analysis, including interactionpreferences, prior physical state, and a position of member 104 relativeto group 102 prior to a current observation. In certain embodiments,trace record database 377 may serve as a reservoir for a prioriinformation, for expectations, or both. Spatial-behavioral mapping(S450) also may use element environmental information to determine abehavior of member 104. In social animal groups, the environment inwhich the group members interact also may constrain member behavior, forexample, with respect to geospatial and topographic conditions, forage,water, and other environmental factors. Interestingly, a behavior ofmember 104 also may indicate a change in environment or in other apriori information.

Typically, discrete element modeling can be a resource- andcomputation-intensive model due, in large part, to modeling following apredictive approach. However, with respect to characterizing definedsocial group 102, it may be advantageous to employ a discrete elementmethod using inverse modeling techniques to effect an empirical analysisof group 102, subgroups 112, 114, members 104, or combinations thereof.While prediction suggests an output on the basis of a known input,empirical analysis may provide insight into an input on the basis of anobserved output. In the context of defined social group 102, a discreteelement method analysis modified to perform an inverse modelingtechnique, facilitates an inference of a member wellness state on thebasis of an observed spatial configuration of one group member 104relative to one or more other group members 104. Wellness states ofsubgroups 112, 114 also may be inferred thereby. Conveniently, thoseskilled in the art of discrete element modeling techniques can modify adisc rete element model to implement an inverse modeling technique for adiscrete element method.

In an embodiment of spatial-behavior mapping (S450), it may be desirableto determine observe a spatial or spatio-temporal configuration of group102, to identify a location of a member 104 during the observation, todetermine whether there has been a change in position from a previousobservation, to determine whether member 104 has had contact with, orwas proximate to, one or more other members 104, and, if so, with whichmember contact was made, and to identify clearly anomalous changes inposition over an observation interval. In addition, changes in a groupspatial configuration can indicate an exhibited group behavior.Exhibited behaviors of group 102 may be identifiable as corresponding tospecific behaviors of a specific member 104, which may simplify memberbehavior determination. In general, behavioral determinations tend tobecome more accurate as more information about the observed members isused in spatial-behavior mapping (S450). Thus, it may be desirable tocharacterize each member 104 as a discrete element, as is understood inthe context of discrete element method analysis. In that regard, eachmember 104 may be represented uniquely by a member vector, M(i), whichis formed from attributes of member 104. Each i^(th) index of vectorM(i) may correspond to a different attribute, for example of nattributes.

Selected attributes of member 104 are fixed or ascertainableindependently of behavior observation in region 110, including, withoutlimitation unique member identification, species, breed, gender, age,weight, origin, known dominance relationships, known subgroupaffiliations, reproductive status, putative dominance status, andprevious relevant sensed or normative biometric data. Selected otherattributes forming member vector M(i) are dynamical data, which mayinclude data obtained during observation of a behavior member 104.Representative dynamical data of member 104 may include spatial positionwithin region 110, spatial position within effective group boundary 145,membership within an observed tag cluster, selected intermemberdisplacements from member 104 subgroups, from related members of group102, or from dominant members.

Other dynamical data which may be used in M(i) includes, withoutlimitation, sensed biometric data. In an iterative form, a member vectormay take the form M(i,j) in which (i) data elements represented in (j)observations. In the aggregate, group 102 can be represented by groupmatrix G(j)=M_(k)(i,j), which may represent k group member vectors M(i)during (j) observations. It may be advantageous to form member vectorM(i), at least in part, with data stored in trace record 377. Member 15vector M(i) data may correspond uniquely to member 104, or correspondgenerally to group 102, or to subgroup 112, 114. As a result,spatial-behavior mapping (S450) using an empirical discrete elementmethod may produce sufficiently accurate determinations (S455) of abehavior of member 104, subgroup 112, 114, or group 102, such that anappropriate inference about a wellness state of member 104, subgroup112, 114, or group 102 may be made.

Beneficially, spatial-behavior mapping (S450) can produce behaviordetermination information, upon which a wellness inference analysis(S460) may be performed. In an embodiment of wellness inference analysis(S460), with respect to group 102, an observed behavior may be compared(S470) with a previous behavior of group 102; may be compared (S472) toselected predetermined behavior models, or both. The results ofbehavioral comparisons (S470, S472) may be analyzed (S474) to generate awellness state inference for group 102. In addition, other selectedgroup, subgroup, or member data, including selected biometric data, maybe used during comparisons (S470, S472) and analysis (S474) to refine aninferred wellness state.

In an embodiment of wellness inference analysis (S460), with respect tosubgroup 112, an observed behavior of subgroup 112 may be compared(S480) with a behavior of group 102, which may include a current orprevious behavior; compared (S482) with a behavior of subgroup 112 oranother subgroup 114, which may include a current or previous behavior;compared (S484) to selected predetermined behavior models for a subgroup112, or a combination thereof. The results of behavioral comparisons(S480, S482, S484) may be analyzed (S486) to generate a wellness stateinference for subgroup 102. In addition, other selected group, subgroup,or member data, including selected biometric data, may be used duringcomparisons (S480, S482, S484) and analysis (S486) to refine an inferredwellness state for subgroup 112. Subgroup behavior analysis and wellnessinference may proceed for one or more selected subgroups 112, 114.

In an embodiment of wellness inference analysis (S460), with respect tomember 104, an observed behavior may be compared (S490) with a currentor a previous behavior of group 102; compared (S492) with a current or aprevious behavior subgroup 112 or subgroup 112; compared (S494) with aprevious behavior of member 104; compared (S496) with selectedpredetermined individual behavior models; or a combination thereof. Theresults of behavioral comparisons may be analyzed (S498) to generate awellness state inference for member 104. In addition, other selectedmember data, including biometric data, may be used during comparisons(S490, S492, S494) to refine a wellness state inference analysis (S496).Within the context of FIG. 3 , at least a portion of actions S410, S430,S440, S450, or S460 may be performed by one or more of spatial dataclassifier 371, behavior classifier 373, or inference engine 375, incooperation with CPU 322 and memory 324. Trace record database 377 maybe an example of a database that may manage a selected subset of member104 information, or may manage a comprehensive longitudinal database forpresent and former members of group 102. One or more of spatial dataclassifier 371, behavior classifier 373, or inference engine 375, may beimplemented in hardware, in software, or in an effective combinationthereof.

In accordance with the foregoing principles and embodiments, FIGS. 5, 6,and 7 respectively describe embodiments of a wellness inference analysismethod, a breeding inference analysis method, and a predation inferenceanalysis method.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of wellness inference method 500, bywhich a member wellness state may be inferred from the spatialpositioning of member 104 relative to group 102. Method 500 may begin bydetecting (S505) group members 104, and a spatial distribution of groupmembers, in an observation region, such as region 110 in FIG. 1 . ActionS505 may be implemented in accordance with at least a portion of anembodiment of morphological image processing (S410) in FIG. 4 ,performed after a group spatial distribution of group 102 is sensed(S405). For example, action S505 may generally correspond to one or moreof actions S412, S414, S416, or S418, depicted in FIG. 4 . In analternative embodiment, action 505 may correspond to a simple bitmapgeneration and searching technique. Also, after detecting group members(S505), it can be desirable to compare the identities of members 104(S510) to a known roster corresponding to group 102. In a case where oneor more members 104 may be missing (S515), it is desirable to identify(S520) missing members 104 and to recall (S525) the last known locationof missing members 104. A distressed wellness state may be inferred formissing members 104, and a distress alert may be transmitted (S530) to agroup steward for investigation. A spatial distribution of group 102 maybe identified (S53S) from sensed group data, with a behavior of a memberbeing identified (S540) thereafter.

With respect to FIG. 4 , one or both of actions S535 and S540 may beeffected, for example, by a spatial-behavioral mapping technique, suchas action S450. Member behavior so identified may be recorded in adatabase (S545), for example, trace record database 377 in FIG. 3 . Inaddition, member behavior may be compared to a preselected behaviornorm, an empirically-determined behavior norm, or both. Action S545 maybe accomplished, for example, by all or part of an embodiment ofbehavioral analysis and wellness inference method 5460), although otherbehavior analysis techniques also may be used. In embodiments in whichan expectation model of member behavior is employed, it may bebeneficial to determine whether one or more members 104 are positioned(S550) in an expected location. If it is determined that members are inan expected location, method 500 may resume detecting group members(S505). Otherwise, one or more of a member displacement or a membermovement, may be determined (S555) relative to group 102.

Member displacement or member movement may be used to infer (S560)whether member 104 is in a distressed wellness state. Where member 104is inferred to be distressed (S565), then a distressed member alert maybe generated and transmitted (S570) to a group steward for response. Itmay be beneficial to provide boundary conditions (S575) for alertnotifications, which may be preset or empirically determined throughobservations of member 104 behavior.

Turning to FIG. 6 , an embodiment of a breeding behavior inferenceanalysis 600 is shown. As with method 500 in FIG. 5 , method 600 maybegin by detecting (S60S) group members 104 and a spatial distributionof group members, in an observation region, such as region 110 in FIG. 1. Present group members may be reviewed and checked (S610) for thepresence of one or more sires in proximity to a dam. If so, it may bedesirable to execute (S615) an embodiment of a wellness inferenceanalysis technique, which may be similar to method 500 in FIG. 5 . In aninstance in which action S615 infers a distressed member state (S620),it may be desirable to notify (S625) a group steward to intervene andstop further breeding behavior by the identified dam. If the identifieddam is not inferred to be distressed, it may be desirable to determine(S630) whether the identified dam has already engage in a potentiallysuccessful breeding behavior.

If it is determined that the identified dam has engaged in a potentiallysuccessful breeding behavior, then it may be assumed that the dam hasconceived and breeding attempts will soon cease, and to continue todetect group member configurations (605). However, it may be desirableto track the frequency of recent breeding attempts with an identifieddam, and to infer a distressed animal state for repetitive breedingbehavior, similar to a previously described manner. On the other hand,if the identified dam has not engaged in recent breeding behavior,method 600 can include measure the time (S645) that an identified sirespends with the identified dam. In general, a suitable amount of timefor a potentially successful breeding event can be determined. If a sirespends a suitable amount of time with an identified dam, then it isdesirable to record (S660) the likely occurrence of a breeding event.

This information may be stored in a database (S640), which may be abreeding database. It also may be desirable to generate and transmit astatus alert to a group steward indicating that a successful breedingmay have occurred, and denoting the potential breeding pair. More thanone sire may spend a suitable amount of time with a dam in estrus, andso, storing related information (S640) in a database may enablesubsequent identification of a breeding pair, and thus a lineage ofoffspring. It is possible that contact between a sire and an identifieddam is incidental (S655), if so, then it may be desirable to resumedetecting (S605) a spatial distribution of group 102. If contact is notincidental, but is not considered to be suitable to infer a properbreeding time, then it may be beneficial to continue to monitor timespent by a sire with a receptive dam.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a predation inference analysistechnique 700, by which behavior indicative of the presence or activityof a predator may be determined and a distressed member state may beinferred. Technique 700 may be a separate technique, as indicated inFIG. 7 , or may be subsumed by one or more functions corresponding toimage processing (S410), neighbor detection (S430), spatial-behavioralmapping (S450), or behavioral analysis & wellness inference technique(S460). Similar to method 500 and method 600, method 700 may begin bydetecting group members 104 and a spatial distribution of group members(S705). It may be beneficial to execute (S710) wellness inferenceanalysis technique 500, or a functional equivalent thereof. When adistressed member state can be inferred (S715) from member behavior, itcan be desirable to generate and transmit a distress alert (S720) to agroup steward, indicating a distressed member from an inferred illness.If members appear to be in a well member state (S725), it can beadvantageous to monitor member movement (S730).

In one embodiment of predation inference analysis technique 700, adistressed member state due to predation may be inferred (S735) whenidentified coordinated movements of a member 104, of proximate members,such as in group 112, 114, and of group 102, indicate rapid movement orconcerted movement away from a common area of region 110. Where adistressed member state corresponding to predation can be inferred, itcan be beneficial to generate (S740) a corresponding distress alert andto transmit the alert quickly to a group steward. An alternative toconcerted group or subgroup movements may include an identifiablebehavior of a single member, such as of distressed member 190, which maybe used to infer activity of predator 175.

In view of the foregoing, apparatus and methods in accordance with thepresent disclosure can be applicable for use with virtually everyspecies of social animal to identify a variance behavior in a member ofthe social group. A variance behavior may be determined as a function ofthe observed behavior of the member compared to member behavioral normsand expectations; as a function of an observed behavior of the member,compared to empirical group behavior, or group behavioral norms andexpectations; as a function of a member behavior with respect to theenvironment in which the group is located; or as a function of a memberbehavior with respect to a presence or activity of a predator. Inaddition, apparatus and methods described herein may permit true socialbehaviors of a member, subgroup, or group to be observed andcharacterized. Moreover, apparatus and methods may permit rapididentification of, and intervention in, abnormal behavior among membersof the social group.

The above described example embodiments of the present invention areintended as teaching examples only. These example embodiments are in noway intended to be exhaustive of the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving a plurality ofsignals from a plurality of passive tags coupled with each animal of aplurality of animals over a period of time, each signal comprisinggeospatial data; determining spatiotemporal distribution of theplurality of animals within an observation region over a period of timebased on the geospatial data from each of the plurality of passive tags;determining a wellness state of a first animal of the plurality ofanimals based on the spatiotemporal distribution of the plurality ofanimals; and transmitting an alert in response to the wellness state. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the wellness state comprises abreeding state or a health state of the first animal.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein determining the wellness state of thefirst animal includes determining the proximity of the first animal to apoint or region of attraction within the observation region.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the point or region of attractionincludes one or more of water, shade, swales, food, mineral supplements,and water supplements.
 5. The method according to claim 1, whereindetermining the wellness state of the first animal includes determiningthe proximity of the first animal to a point or region of repulsionwithin the observation region.
 6. The method according to claim 1,wherein the point or region of repulsion includes one or more of mound,dips, unevenly illuminated areas, toxic plants, trees, washes, fences,and bluffs.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining awellness state of a first animal of the plurality of animals includesreferencing a record database for data on the first animal of theplurality of animals.
 8. A method comprising: receiving a plurality ofsignals from a plurality of passive tags coupled with each animal of aplurality of animals over a period of time, each signal comprisinggeospatial data; determining spatiotemporal distribution of theplurality of animals within an observation region over a period of timebased on the geospatial data from each of the plurality of passive tags;determining a wellness state of a subset of animals of the plurality ofanimals based on the spatiotemporal distribution of the plurality ofanimals; and updating a record database that includes information aboutthe plurality of animals with the wellness state of the subset ofanimals.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the record databaseincludes one or more of the following: predetermined attributes of eachanimal, empirical observations about each animal, and biometric dataabout each animal.
 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein thewellness state comprises a breeding state or a health state of the firstanimal.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein determining thewellness state of the first animal includes determining the proximity ofthe first animal to a point or region of attraction within theobservation region.
 12. The method according to claim 8, wherein thepoint or region of attraction includes one or more of water, shade,swales, food, mineral supplements, and water supplements.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 8, wherein determining the wellness state of thefirst animal includes determining the proximity of the first animal to apoint or region of repulsion within the observation region.
 14. Themethod according to claim 8, wherein the point or region of repulsionincludes one or more of mound, dips, unevenly illuminated areas, toxicplants, trees, washes, fences, and bluffs.
 15. The method according toclaim 8, wherein determining a wellness state of a first animal of theplurality of animals includes referencing a record database for data onthe first animal of the plurality of animals.
 16. A system comprising: awireless input channel; a record database that includes informationabout the plurality of animals; a process communicatively coupled withthe wireless input channel and the record database, the processorincludes instructions to: receive a plurality of signals from aplurality of passive tags coupled with each animal of a plurality ofanimals over a period of time via the wireless input, each signalcomprising geospatial data; determine spatiotemporal distribution of theplurality of animals within an observation region over a period of timebased on the geospatial data from each of the plurality of passive tags;determine a wellness state of a subset of animals of the plurality ofanimals based on the spatiotemporal distribution of the plurality ofanimals; and updating the record database with the wellness state of thesubset of animals.
 17. The system according to claim 16, whereindetermining the wellness state of the first animal includes determiningthe proximity of the first animal to a point or region of attractionwithin the observation region.
 18. The system according to claim 16,wherein the point or region of attraction includes one or more of water,shade, swales, food, mineral supplements, and water supplements.
 19. Thesystem according to claim 16, wherein determining the wellness state ofthe first animal includes determining the proximity of the first animalto a point or region of repulsion within the observation region.
 20. Thesystem according to claim 16, wherein the point or region of repulsionincludes one or more of mound, dips, unevenly illuminated areas, toxicplants, trees, washes, fences, and bluffs.